“We just finished another very good quarter,” Giovanni Caforio, Bristol-Myers Squibb CEO said during the company’s conference call yesterday.
The company closed the quarter with $4.9bn in revenue – a 21% increase over the same period last year, largely due in part to Opdivo. However, Caforio noted disappointing results from CheckMate -026, which he said will not change the company’s strategy moving forward.
“We've applied learnings from the trial to our entire development program, and we are advancing a broad set of opportunities for Opdivo,” he explained, adding that the company sees an “even more important role for combinations.”
Over the next three to five years, Caforio said growth will be driven mainly by Eliquis, Opdivo, and Yervoy. Continuing to look forward, he explained the company will “evolve” its operating model in four areas over the next 18 months in order to refocus on priorities.
“We will prioritize resources to focus even more on a core set of key brands and a core set of key markets, positioned to drive growth over time,” said Caforio.
This will include increasing R&D spend in 2017 versus 2016 – and specifically investing in biologics.
“Biologics are now about 75% of our development portfolio, so we will continue to invest in our biologics capabilities, as evidenced by our recent investments in Devens and Cruiserath,” explained Cofario.
As Biopharma-Reporter.com previously reported, BMS recently invested $280m to complete an expansion of its Deven, MA-based biologics facility to support the company’s growing biologics portfolio.
“We are committed to putting resources where we can deliver the greatest value,” Charles A. Bancroft, Bristol-Myers Squibb CFO, added on the call. “We are evolving the company's operating model and believe these changes will help drive the company's continued success in the near and long term.”